capsule-review on cut grass lies frail

canon af35 ml

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Canon AF35 ML

With its chunky black plastic body, the Canon AF35ML exemplifies the 80s design aesthetic of consumer electronics (anachronistically, given its release in 1981). Its electronic innards betray another characteristic of the 80s : a seeming lack of any concern for reliability or longevity, like so many cameras of the era. Such cameras break easily ; for example, the flash might freeze in the open position, and the design of the body stymies any attempt at DIY repair. Any of the myriad possible failure modes render the camera inert, leaving useless its otherwise appealing set of features, like its fast lens and reliable albeit noisy autofocus. Among its now useless features, the camera burns in the capture date directly on the film, but not past the year 2010. The particular year most likely results from a mundane technical limitation—or perhaps the camera’s design engineers could not imagine a future beyond this horizon.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

minox gte

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Minox GTE

The ultimate subject of photography, like poetry—like all art ?—is time. Time weighs on film photography in a more prosaic way than on poetry: with a few exceptions, no one now makes high-quality film cameras. Functioning film cameras like the charming Minox GTE remain relatively abundant and affordable for the moment, but their numbers will dwindle, sooner rather than later. As their irreplaceable electronic components fail, what were once solid, pocketable, satisfying devices will become mere shelf decorations. Find one in good shape, pay the premium for its fine state, and enjoy it before the inevitable. Memento mori.

Rating: ★★★★★

wars for asia

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: The Wars for Asia, 1911-1949 (S.C.M. Paine)

Like catnip for middle-aged dads. Impeccably researched and well written. Paine manages to make legible the hash that was the long Chinese civil war.

Rating: ★★★★★

nikon z5

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Nikon Z5

Functional, practical, accessible, acceptable. In a word, fine. Not a device to inspire passion or even affection—can any digital camera ?

Rating: ★★★☆☆

nikon fm

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Nikon FM

Walk into any decent camera shop with used analog gear and you’ll find a Canon AE-1 or something close. Cameras like the Nikon FM are slightly rarer despite having fewer features: no electronic shutter, no program modes, and needless to say, no autofocus. These limitations represent in fact its strength. Though the Nikon FM is less spartan than an M3, having an excellent three-LED light meter, it has exactly the right amount of features for the casual photographer, and nothing else to distract.

Rating: ★★★★★

reconstruction

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (Eric Foner)

The inability to plan for the consequences of a war and what to do with the conquered ; the haste to move on to the business of America, business ; a childish faith in free market and free labor ideology ; the prerogatives of Capital when challenged by Labor sweeping all other concerns away ; and, of course, ineradicable white supremacy, violently enforced. Quintessential America.

Rating: ★★★★☆

german

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: German

Is Schmetterling truly uglier than butterfly or papillon ? Among the finest poems in any language is in German:

Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.

Rating: ★★★★☆

french

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: French

A mellifluous language whose focus on precision often leads to its sounding silly. Animal domestique ? You mean a pet ? Grow up.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

spring snow

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Spring Snow (Yukio Mishima)

A perfect novel. Mishima writes prose with Flaubertian control, detachment, and elegance (a word itself often used in the story) and every element comes together masterfully. Even parts that may seem extraneous to the central story—the visiting princes, Honda’s attendance at a criminal trial, various philosophical digressions—offer their own counterpoints and add meaningfully to the whole.

A striking image, coming after Satoko reflects on her time with Kiyoaki inevitably coming to its end:

Behind him [Honda] heard the sound—so faint that he thought he must be imagining it at first—of Satoko pouring the sand from the shoe she had taken off. To Honda, it sounded like the most enchanting hourglass in the world.

Rating: ★★★★★

film photography

aubade@cutgrassliesfrail.com — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Capsule review: Film photography

Objectively worse than digital in almost every way: quality, cost, convenience, etc. Cherish it.

Rating: ★★★★★